December 8, 2010 - Beth Phillips, United States Attorney
for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an
Ozark, Missouri man pleaded guilty in federal court
on Tuesday creating and selling false aircraft
inspection labels.

Joseph J. Fisk, 58, of Ozark, pleaded guilty before U.S.
Magistrate Judge James C. England to the charge
contained in a July 28, 2010, federal indictment. Fisk
is the owner of Air & Marine Radio, LLC, in Ozark.

From March to September 2009, Fisk created fraudulent
FAA inspection labels on his computer. The fraudulent
labels represented a satisfactory annual or 100-hour
inspection of an aircraft.

The lables contained the forged signature of James F.
Probst, who holds an FAA Inspection Authorization
certificate, without his knowledge or consent. Probst
had never seen or performed an annual inspection on any
aircraft with which the fraudulent labels were
associated.

Fisk
admitted that he placed the fraudulent labels in the logbooks of
10 to 12 aircraft, the records of which he did not maintain.
Fisk also sold the false labels to multiple parties for $100 per
label on multiple occasions, knowing that the labels would be
placed in aircraft maintenance logbooks in violation of federal
law.

The FAA
has established rules for inspections of aircraft to ensure the
safety of the flying public. FAA rules require an annual or
100-hour inspection be performed by the holder of an FAA
Inspection Authorization certificate.

Under
federal statutes, Fisk is subject to a sentence of up to 10
years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to
$250,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the
completion of a presentence investigation by the United States
Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney
Robyn L. McKee. It was investigated by the Federal Aviation
Administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation -
Office of Inspector General, and the FBI.